morning. >> did you hear it? no. my wife noticed it. the dog was barking. >> the trouble began here sunday night. the creek spilled over and threw a 600 feet levy which is the only thing between the water and the neighborhood. the conservation core came with sandbags but the area between the bay and highway 101 is fron flooding. one of the worst in 1998. it's too narrow for runnoff from storms and it's in a high tide flood plain. construction on a long term solution will be this summer. >> most levies are not levies but constructed by farmers. it includes these. >> he says the levies were not built to protect home autos people in the 50s development

in the 50s all day, they didn't look at this. you know? isn't this a wonderful place to build houses? yes. but what about the creek? don't worry bit. >> the project includes widening the creek to handle a storm flow, and a 26 inch sea level rise. it will be excavated and an abandoned levy will be north of the creek. >> whatever they say. i don't know. i think they will. it's getting better he's been waiting a long time. the joint powers was formed after that 1998 flood and taken until now to get funding ask it's only phase one. there are still two more upstream phases right now, no one is sure how those will be paid for. >> thank you. taking it elsewhere, clean up continues in the north bay. officials are worried ground

saturation could cause more problems. the runnoff from the hillsides made several trees call. crews work to clear declee -- dree debrie, officials concerned about areas where the soil could be unstable. that could lead to more falling trees. officials warn things like telephone poles could be weaken bid rain-soaked ground. >> now, high country. avalanches have prompted a warning for all skiers and snow borders in the sierra tonight. we're live with the story. >> you can blame it on the storms we've been vag there. is a race right after this being of aftera lampblg at, and below the tree line for steep slopes facing north and east. it has been a bad few days here at sierra ski resorts, monday a snow border was kill by an avalanche. his body discovered buried

under two to three feet of snow. also, monday an experienced member of the ski patrol was killed in alpine meadows. that was intentionally triggered by a explosive charge designed to alleviate avalanche danger. over the weekend two jeers hurt in squaw valley. every day, forecasters with the sierra avalanche center inspect back country as well as regular slopes thchl is individual yof a small avalanche only days ago near donner summit. >> we have been getting heavy snow and that pro dugsed a significant avalanche danger. >> we've got rain drops that formed in december z then, we've had time since then, for snow crystals around those crusts to turn sugary, then be

buried slowly. then, have become weak under several feet of snow. there was a lot of load and stress stot toth snow level autos they're working on controlling slopes. they do regular work. that is how it u.can get it going in the regular areas. >> the ski resorts have been sending out pal patrols before the sun comes up. that can take time. some runs mites not be open right away. this takes time to check out ridths to make sure there is no danger. advise is be alert. if you do go out, we're told go with a partner to keep an eye on you. and also, keep an eye for avalanche dang skbrer educate yourself about danger if you see things like cracks in the snow, or notice lower levels that could be the sign of an

avalanche. warning to educate yourself if you come here to the sierra. >> thank you so much. the nation is still reeling from a powerful storm that left some in the mid west under white out conditions and spun dozens of tornadoes in the southeast. >> oh mirks god. we need to go. >> the national weather service says a record 34 tornadoes touched down yesterday. they tore buildings and knocked down power lines. not everyone was able to get to safety. >> just making it out there to the food. it starts jerking us and spinning us. >> oh, wow. look at that tornado. two deaths are blamed on the storm. >> a child from daily city killed last night. the victim of a police chase in pasadena that ended in a tragic crash. a woman and boy kill whtd suv

police were chasing ran a red light and smashed into their minivan. the suv took off near the scene of a fatal shooting that happened on christmas day. one man was killed in the shooting and another remains in critical condition. investigator are now trying to determine if there is a connection between the victims and the four occupants of the suv being chased. >> a u.s. postal worker from san bruno under arrest for stealing mail using stolen credit cards. daily city police say that he stashed bags of mail in his home to find unused credit cards, caught using the cards and is accused of giving others to friends. he faces up to seven years for identity theft and possession of stolen property. >> a work worker is in critical condition. sky 7 hd over the scene to bring us these pictures.

this worker fell 20 feet through a cuttout. crews add a tough time getting to that man. >> we had to take scaffolding to get down to them. there was a little problem getting to him. but we got to him we're able to have the workers open up a safe for them to take them out on the scaffold. >> the man was lying there before anyone realized he was fallen. a san francisco woman charged with killing a pedestrian during a hilt and run was studying to be a police officer. she was arraigned today, and is charged with du. ai. and gross gros vehicular manslaughter. she hit four pedestrians and kept driving. a woman died the scene. she must have an alcohol detecting device on her body and not drive if she makes bail. >> the health of former

president george hw bush is a big concern tonight. he has been moved to intensive care unit. he has been fighting a high fever taking a turn for the worst. mr. bush was taken to icu on sunday night. he was admitted last mop with a brompk kitis-like cough that has not gone away. >> the country retailers found holiday shopping season wasn't as rosie as they hoped. sales were up just a tiny, disappointing 0.7% compared to last year. david louie is live tonight. how bad is that number? >> well, dan that, is the smallest increase in spending in four years. now, when there is a retraction that can have implications for the overall economy. the last minute discounts and

deals gave impression of a frenzy but retail sales didn't match forecasts by a sizeable margin that. is after some shoppers said they spent more on gifts. >> i spend more. and did a lot online. >> that puts pressure on retailer autos they need to sell that inventory to complete the disfis cal year, and also to provide cash to take them in to the new year as well. >> the professor is executive director of the retail management institute. retail spending accounts for 70% of the kmaigs naigs's economy w sales up a scant 0.7% that is going to have a big impact in month as head. retailers like consumers are waitsing for politicians to agrow on a budget and tax autos where there is that uncertainty, they'll be more conservative in investments and inventories and new store

growth but we're going to have some indications of what directions we're going in the next few weeks and days. >> it affects the rest of the supply chain that already are working months head. shoppers sense retailers pampbiced with prechristmas discounts. >> everything now is already the same as what it was before. >> this sounds like they need to move inventory. >> definitely. >> that means stores may in the be expanded and prapts people won't be hired or retained. some retailers hoping that shoppers who receive gift cards might be spending them, soon. >> david, thank you. president obama cut short his christmas vacation in hawaii to return to bash wash -- bash

bash. -- washington he's going to work on a deal to avoid the so called fiscal cliff. there are five days remaining before hikes are scheduled to take affect. senate due back in session tomorrow nork indication of new proposals on the table. no word of negotiations sessions being scheduled, either. >> still ahead here at 5:00 a controversial battle that shut down a popular recycling center comes to an end. looming deadline for a 30-year-old institution. >> and a bed bug outbreak in the east bay. unique boot camp officials hope will use to squash a growing problem. >> a warning about hidden fees on gift cards that may whittle away the value. did you get one? want to see that report. the news continues in one minute.

a san francisco recycling center is scheduled to be closed this weekend. the neighborhood counsel's recycling center has been fighting falls for city hall to be shut down since 1996. the city says this operation has been attracting the homeless. saying they're hoping to turn it into a community garden. the center says collection day will be on december 30th. >> the city of los angeles holding a gun buy back today to take advantage of the outrage against the connecticut school massacre. event held once a year and usually takes place in the spring but the mayor moved it up, hoping more people will be willing to turn in guns. the mayor urges congress to also take action and soon. >> cities and states but join with the federal government to do everything we can as quickly as we can. to keep our community safe. and to get deadly weapons off

the streets. >> the mayor started that buy back about three years ago has been credited with taking weapons off the streets. >> the feds denied california's request to be exgrempt a key education law. state department of education was hoping to win a reprieve from no child left behind. the law punishes schools and districts if not enough students are proficient and n.english and math. 6,000 schools have been labeled as failing. the state argued the schools are being required to send sed aside funding for outside tutoring program autos "los angeles times" publish aid list unlike any other including thousands of confidential files of expected sex abuse within the boy scouts. the map posted online includes names of the alleged abusers and a copy of the original scouts report. the victims names do not

appear. the boy scouts kept files for is own internal use and began conducting criminal background checks in 2008. 34 residents are included on that list. >> we know the old saying don't let the bed bugs bite. guess what? they are in the east bay. the ala immediate why county health department is getting a bed bug boot camp next month. it's a free event on how to prevent and control the spread of bud bugs. the boot camp has been scheduled january 22 at san leandro main library from:30 until 1:00 in the afternoon. we have information and registration details on our web site. abc 7 news.com under see it on tv. yucd. >> did you get a gift card this year? maybe you're the kind of person that wants to sock them away, snuff. >> if that is you.

michael finney is here with a with a word of warning. gift cards and california law says gift cards sold by a retail store with not expire. the stores can not charge fees until the card is worth less than 5s skpdz then, there are a bunch of rules, however, many cards issued by banks do come with fee that's is legal, because they're regulated by authorities. for many, the banks charge a monthly fee after 12 or 18 months if you haven't used the carreds. the fees range from one and a half to $3 or $4 per month. if you received one check fine print then use it before value goes down. it's best to use my by the way. there may be millions of folks returning ugly sweaters today but if yours was purr

christmas chass online, what are you going to do? you can ship for a refund or exchange but you need the correct shipping label and package asking that. a survey showed that many retailers can take weeks to refund the money. however, you may be able to avoid that hassle returning the gift to a physical store if the retailer has one. >> if you got something bought online, you can return it to a brick and mortar store. >> retailers like best buy and rei will let you return online purchases at stores. check with online mer dhoonts see if you have that option. sometimes, they've got a store and won't you allow to you do that. there is yet another sign that the housing market is rebounding. this is great news. a survey finds prices up 4% in october and that is the biggest nation witd increase

in two years n the bay area, home prices rose by nearly 9%. yahoo. analysts give credit to improving economy and rock bottom interest rates. many predict prices will keep going up f you're been sitting on the fence this is time to consider is it time to buy? >> ocean specially with interest rates owe so cheap. >> sandhya patel keeping an eye on the accu-weather forecast. >> year getting a break. >> we are. enjoy the break. goitsing to last, then we'll see changes again. we do have clouds out there. leftover clouds there. overnight tonight we're expecting more clearing and that means temperatures will be falling. live doppler 7 hd now, it i'll show you what it looks like all ending winding down and

chain controlz remain in effect for sierra nevada. still, some snow. two to almost three feet. if you have plans and want to enjoy the snow, tomorrow morning just isolated snow shourks then looking fine for travel plans. at laeft for the rest of the thursday and friday. temperatures right now, into 40s and 50s it's starting to get cold out there. cold inland. we're looking at mostly sunny skies for thursday and tomorrow morning if you need to do returns or just running out, have plans it's going to be cold. fairfield, 34. 34 in santa rosa. 36 in livermore, vallejo, 37. 41 degrees in san jose. coldest locations patches of fog in the morning.

some of you are working and will are to deal with that. the front passed. watching this area of low pressure a break is coming for tomorrow. morning clouds giving way to sunshine. so beautiful day coming up for your thursday. winter storm warning until 11:00 tonight. additional three inches of snow. interstate 80 may continue to require chains so just keep that in mind. friday evening, we'll see rain developing in the north bay around 9:00 p.m. could see snow around lake county area. and into saturday morning rainfall with this system does not look impressive. half an inch in mountains. so will be a quick moving system. and that will be it. thursday looking like into low to mid-50s we'll see upper 40s

there. i'll get a chance to dry out this, is much needed. around the monterey bay, temperatures into mid-50s for thursday afternoon under mostly sunny skies. rain arriving late friday night, not a big storm. sunday it's dry again. monday, new year's eve if you have plans you'll notice temperatures bumping up a little bit during the day. night time hours are dry conditions. more rain chances are here. >> that is right. >> thank you very much oo. still ahead a let's onin facebook privacy. >> how this picture ended up going viral. >> that is coming up. and how a little boy's obsession with legos become a powerful prescription for treating a condition that threatens his life at 6:00. we'll be right back here.

miney riders says the prediction software went down, giving riders an idea of when the next bus or train is going to arrive at the stop. it's operated by next bus. the outage affected ac transit's prediction. it has nothing to do with what service is offered just giving people an idea of what to suspect. muni says ridership was very light on routes today, folks, many of them not back to work. muni will be celebrating it's 100th anniversary bif giving a free ride. officials say lost revenue from the day will amount to only.3% -- .2% of the annual shares so the strain is minimal.

muni riders will get to ride muni free on new year's eve beginning at 8:00 in the eveninging through 6:00 a.m. new year's day. >> older sister of mark zuckerberg found herself in a bit of an online privacy breech posting this family picture of her christmas celebration on her facebook profile. but someone she didn't know saw it, and then, sent it out to 40,000 twitter followers. zuckerberg sent the woman a message saying it was meant for the facebook friends not supposed to be tributed tweeting it's not about privacy settings but human decency. randy zuckerberg is the former head of marketing for facebook. >> still ahead hold your nose for the story. >> oh, boy. big crowds lining up for a rare event causing a big stink. down under.

coming up a fairfield woman once charged in a fire winds up on the wrong side of the law again. >> at the government theaters on the edge of a fiscal cliff, you might want to change your tax strategy. >> find out if a sport that used to be qauled frisbee gochl now has a new name. >> finally for us. for now, you may want to hold your nose for strit. >> yes. >> flower man fatics are flocking to watch a corpse bloom. >> it happens once every six years. this flower has a very foul smell akin to a rotting corpse. >> the bloom usually collapses within two days. >> ask they wait in line for this. >> yes.

>> world news is next i'm cheryl jennings. >> from all of us here, thanks for watching. we appreciate your time, see you again at 6:00. this is "world news." tonight, whiteout. the monster winter storm across more than a dozen states now. blizzard warnings and twisters. tonight, our extreme weather team out in the storm. and now the ripple effect being felt coast to coast. even the pilots apologizing. >> i have no -- no words to tell you how sorry i am. >> sam champion, right here with the latest storm track. heading home. as we near that fiscal cliff, six days now until higher taxes for all. will there be a deal? also tonight, an abc news exclusive. barbara walters at the white house. asking michelle obama if she'll run for office next. and a personal question, too. >> how do you keep the fire going? >> hmm. that's a good question. made in america.